Our state has remained on a near record pace for pedestrian deaths, but an effort has been mounted to help.
Across our state, towns have taken advantage of state and federal programs to add, enhance and improve their sidewalks - one of the most low-tech methods of making things safer for pedestrians.
For as long as folks can remember, the area where Bell Street and Hebron Avenue intersect in Glastonbury has been one where pedestrians keep a close eye on folks driving here.
“When you have the sun in people’s eyes, or they’re on their phone, it gets a little sketchy, you always worry about someone not paying attention for an instant," Brian Henderson, who lives nearby, said.
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After many years of waiting, folks like Henderson have been given a brand new sidewalk. The project cost a little more than $750,000, and the state picked up a majority of the tab.
The new sidewalk has established better links to a nearby elementary school and a nature trail.
Connecticut Transportation Safety Institute Executive Director Eric Jackson and his team of researchers say through Dec. 18 this year, we are at 63 pedestrian fatalities in Connecticut, almost on pace with 2022, which had the highest rate of pedestrian deaths at 72.
Investigations
“We’re a little bit behind, thank goodness, but you know, all it’s gonna take is a bad week, the last week of the year, and we could be right back where we were," Jackson said.
He said one of the best ways to lower that figure is by constructing and repairing sidewalks, creating separation between drivers and pedestrians.
His team has begun participating in a project that will survey how many sidewalks we have statewide.
“The ability to start going in and understanding what we have and the physical environment and what the limitations are, then we can go in and fix those challenges, and try to really improve safety for all road users,” Jackson said.
Jackson said it’s also great that this sidewalk just got installed here in Glastonbury in December.
He said when it’s darker out, between October and January, it has historically been the most dangerous time of the year for pedestrians.
